Carrick gives an interesting response to a United fan who is one win away from cutting his hair
Michael Carrick is aiming to secure five consecutive wins for Manchester United, but says the fan who has gone viral for not cutting his hair will not be mentioned in the pre-match team talk.
United travel to West Ham in the Premier League on Tuesday night, hoping to continue their perfect start under Carrick — and another victory would also have an interesting side effect.
Fan Frank Ilett has vowed not to cut his hair until United achieve five wins in a row. He began posting about the idea on social media in October 2024 and has now gone more than 500 days without a haircut.
Known as “The United Strand,” he has amassed over two million followers on social media, while his long hair went viral during the difficult period under Ruben Amorim. However, Carrick’s appointment as interim manager last month has increased the chances that this story will finally come to an end.
Carrick has secured victories against Manchester City, Arsenal, Fulham and Tottenham, and now only West Ham stand between Ilett and cutting his long hair.
“I can say that I’m aware of it, yes,” Carrick said when asked about Ilett at his pre-match press conference. “My kids have told me about it, but of course it won’t come into the team talk from a professional point of view. I understand what’s going on and it makes me smile, but in the end it won’t have any impact.”
United captain Bruno Fernandes was asked about the same topic after the 2–0 win over Tottenham with ten men, but he played it down:
“I need to focus on myself, I don’t look at other people. I don’t look at whether they need to go to the barber or not — that’s not important to me.”
United have been transformed under Carrick and sit fourth in the Premier League following this winning run.
West Ham, on the other hand, occupy the final relegation spot (18th), but three wins in their last four matches make them a tough opponent at the London Stadium.
“Of course you gain confidence and positive feelings from recent games and go into the next one with more optimism,” Carrick said. “The big challenge is knowing what has brought you this far and how much work it takes to win at this level, so you should never assume the next game will be easy.”
Carrick confirmed that Mason Mount and Matthijs de Ligt will remain sidelined through injury. United will have a 12-day break after the West Ham match due to their elimination from the FA Cup.
